Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 461 Debate

In the marketplace, Chen Anran walked ahead, his dark cloth clothes making him inconspicuous in the crowd. Lu Kong followed beside him, his usual smile on his face, his gaze shifting between the shops and pedestrians on the street. Huiming brought up the rear, fingering prayer beads, his eyelids slightly lowered.

The three of them wandered aimlessly, like three ordinary tourists.

An old man selling sugar figurines on the street was kneading his last sugar rabbit. With nimble fingers, the sugar syrup transformed into a lifelike little creature in his hands. Several children surrounded the stall, their eyes wide, shouting, "I want one! I want one!" The old man chuckled and handed the finished sugar rabbit to the little girl with a high ponytail at the front.

The little girl took it, reluctant to eat it, and just held it up, looking at it again and again in the sunlight.

Lu Kong stopped and glanced at it.

"Uncle-Master," he said, "what's the difference between a child three thousand years ago and a child three thousand years from now?"

Chen Anran also stopped and followed his gaze.

"Naturally, they are different."

Lu Kong turned his head, looked at Chen Anran's expressionless face, and suddenly smiled.

"That's true, people are always changing. Whether it's my senior sister, or other people, or even you, Uncle-Master."

Chen Anran suddenly sighed, "Yes, people change. Before I transmigrated, some people called me 'Brother Chen' or 'Fellow Daoist,' but now they all call me 'True Person.'"

The hustle and bustle of the street continued, and the children in front of the sugar figurine stall were still arguing over whether they wanted a rabbit or a butterfly, but the three of them slowed down.

After listening to Chen Anran's words, Lu Kong smiled and nodded, "Uncle-Master is right. People do change. Let alone three thousand years, even three years is enough to completely change a person." He paused, his gaze falling on an old man selling candied hawthorns on the street corner, "Moreover, people are naturally drawn to strength. With your current strength, it's only natural that people are polite and respectful to you."

Chen Anran didn't say anything, but just continued walking forward.

Lu Kong followed and continued, "I'm not saying they're being hypocritical. On the contrary, I think this change is quite natural. When you become stronger, others will naturally look up to you."

"What Benefactor Lu said is too absolute."

A voice came from behind.

Lu Kong turned around and saw Huiming slowly walking forward, her fingers twirling prayer beads. Her eyes, which were always half-closed, were now slightly raised, her gaze falling on Lu Kong's face.

Lu Kong raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What insightful opinion does Master Huiming have?"

Huiming walked to the side of the two, his steps never faltering, and walked alongside Chen Anran.

"As Benefactor Lu said, it is natural for people to admire the strong, and this humble monk does not deny that." Huiming's voice was calm, as if he were reciting an ordinary scripture. "But to say that respect is only because of strength is to underestimate the human heart."

Lu Kong looked at him with a smile: "What does the master mean?"

"My master just said that some people call him 'Brother Chen,' some call him 'Fellow Daoist,' but now everyone calls him 'Master.'" Huiming paused. "But this humble monk remembers that last night at Qinghui Pavilion, Benefactor Qi still called him 'Chen Anran,' Daoist Tianbao still called him 'Young Chen,' and Benefactor Jiang still joked with him. Why is that?"

Lu Kong was slightly taken aback.

Huiming continued, "Respect stems from strength, but intimacy does not. What Benefactor Lu said just now was only half right."

Lu Kong was silent for a moment, then laughed. His laughter carried a hint of relief and a touch of self-mockery.

"The master is right." He nodded. "I was being too attached to appearances."

Chen Anran walked between the two without interrupting, only a slight smile playing on her lips.

At a clay figurine stall on the street, several children were crowded around, vying to have the stall owner sculpt a little dog. The stall owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, had very nimble fingers, and in a few strokes, he transformed a lump of clay into a lifelike little creature. The children took their clay figurines, cheered, and ran off to the next stall.

Looking at the children, Lu Kong suddenly asked, "Master, do you think people's hearts are something they are born with, or something they are cultivated?"

Huiming's hands continued to twirl the prayer beads, his eyelids slightly lowered: "This humble monk cannot answer Benefactor Lu's question. This humble monk only knows that people's hearts can change, and yet they also remain unchanged."

That sounds far-fetched.

"It's not mysterious," Huiming said. "What changes is attitude, what doesn't change is nature. Take Benefactor Qi, for example. What she calls Benefactor Chen and how she views Benefactor Chen are two different things."

Lu Kong thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

The three continued walking, passing through street after street, and around shop after shop. The cloth sellers, the grain sellers, the grocers, the peddlers carrying loads, the women leading children, the old men squatting in the corners basking in the sun—all passed before their eyes, like a long scroll slowly unfolding.

The three walked for a while longer when suddenly the area ahead became lively.

The sounds of gongs, drums, cheers, and applause mingled together, coming from the street corner.

"Is there a theatrical troupe up ahead?" Lu Kong craned his neck to take a look.

Chen Anran didn't say anything, but just walked forward with the flow of people.

Turning the corner, the view suddenly opened up before me.

In an open space, a stage about waist-high was erected, where an old man and a young boy were performing something. The old man wore a drab gray long gown, his face was painted with white powder, and he was waving a tattered fan in his hand; the young boy wore a floral cloth dress, had two pigtails, and was imitating a bird's call in a high-pitched voice. A crowd of people surrounded the stage, some standing, some squatting, and some children riding on adults' shoulders, all watching with great interest.

Chen Anran's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on a tree to the left of the stage.

A small blue cloth sedan chair was parked under the tree, and several men dressed in short brown clothes stood beside it, their backs straight and their eyes scanning the crowd warily.

They were poorly disguised and clearly came from a military background; Zhou Da was the leader.

Beside the sedan chair, two young girls were squeezed at the edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoe to look at the stage.

One of the women was Wei Yiran. She was holding onto the sleeve of the person next to her with one hand, pointing at the stage with the other, saying something, and smiling.

The person she was pulling was also dressed in ancient costume with a simple hair bun. He was jumping up and down as he jumped, shouting, "I see it! I see it!"

Who else could it be but Xiao Ling'er?

Lu Kong laughed out loud: "Uncle-Master, isn't this a coincidence?"

Chen Anran smiled slightly and walked over there.

Lu Kong and Huiming followed behind, weaving through the crowd, past several old men clapping and cheering, and stopped by the tree.

Zhou Da was the first to discover them.

He was standing beside the sedan chair, his eyes scanning the crowd like an eagle's when he suddenly spotted three familiar figures. He was startled, then quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Master Chen! Master Lu! Master Huiming!"

Chen Anran waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be so polite.

Over there, Xiao Ling'er was jumping around happily when she suddenly heard Zhou Da's voice and turned around abruptly. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Chen Anran, and she pulled Wei Yiran to squeeze out.

"Junior Uncle! Junior Uncle!"